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Mind Over Matter
The sky was blue, and the sun stood high. Somewhere close to the borders between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire there was a meadow, in that meadow there sat a man. Once, this man had been a member of root, a powerful criminal feared across the entire world. Now, he was nothing, Isamu had for many years been escaping from his own powers, but as everyone knows, it's impossible to flee from yourself and it had finally caught up to him. He used to wear finery and exquisite clothing, those clothes had been largely ruined by his time in the wilds, and he was unwashed and unkempt, dark rings surrounded his amber eyes. At this moment he was grinning gleefully while his hands were stuck in the opened chest cavity of some unfortunate victim. "Don't worry, I know you've got ouchie but Isamu is gonna take care of you, yes, you'll be all right. I'm a medical-nin, you see, yes, yes, medic, yes!" Scattered across the ground of the one-time member of the Akatsuki were various body parts belonging to different people, there were detached heads, arms, hands, legs and torsos. All of the faces were blankly staring up into the sky above. Isamu's "patient" consisted of a brutalized man's torso with his head still attached, his other extremities had been cut off and were lost among all the other body parts. Only the stumps of his arms and legs remained, still barely attached to his torso. Suddenly, the estranged Yamanaka looked at the face of the corpse, and with a sad sigh he spoke softly, almost affectionately. "Why aren't you answering? Don't you think I'm a good medic? Is that it!? You miserable wretch, I ought to leave you here to die, I ought to rip out your innards and make you eat them!" At this point the wretched man was basically shouting at the corpse, while his right hand had become surrounded by a nimbus of pale blue light, which quickly changed into the shape of perfect chakra blade. Abruptly his features softened note worthily, and his voice likewise so. He spoke again, this time his voice had a loving quality to it, like a father talking to his beloved child. His pitch was lighter than before, almost melodic in tune. He lowered his hand to his waist while he spoke, and all threat was wiped from his form. "Oh, don't cry my dear, daddy loves you, you know he does, he didn't mean to be mad at you. Say, when the kind doctor has finished working on you, will you go with daddy to the candy store? You will, that's great. Watch out, now Daddy is gonna give you kissing cooties!" With that, Isamu leant down towards the corpse and kissed its forehead lovingly, all while drying imagined tears from the bleak rotting eyeholes. He moved back up in a sitting position while he rummaged through the body parts for something interesting to use, all while he smiled lovingly at his "patient". "To show you how sorry I am, I've decided to make you pretty, oh, oh-so-pretty you will be. Yes, yes, indeed, very indeed, much indeed, yes... pretty, pretty little Shusuke" Taking the arms of a young woman, he looked at the corpse and smiled. Her arms were delicate and she had been quite the looker while still alive that is, now the stench of her rotting flesh permeated the air around him, although Isamu didn't seem to notice. Without a care in the world and all while staring intently at the corpse he placed the right arm to the correspondent arm stump on his "patient's" body. Then, holding it with one hand he formed several chakra threads with his remaining one and with such blinding speed that one could barely see his movement he connected every single tendon, every single nerve and every single decaying muscle to the stump in a manner which made the obvious abomination seem almost natural. As a medic-nin, Isamu had once been without equal. Though in the years approaching his death, others had surfaced. He did the same with the left arm, still strangely meticulous in his grotesque craft. While still in possession of his mind, Isamu had used his powers primarily for killing and torture, enslaving those he enjoyed the looks of and making them his toys for the remainders of their lives. Only now, with his mind in tatters did he actually use it for healing - even if he was attempting to heal a dead person he himself had slain just a day ago. In full sunlight, uncovered and open, Isamu's "doctor game" with the corpse could seem almost poetic to those of a dark mind, like a despicable riddle or a particularily wicked picture. "Akagi-sama!" A cheerful voice called to her crimson haired master, ever so gently leaping from branch to branch. Her own green hair waved gracefully behind her. Emerald eyes shining in the suns light. She wore her official robes which had a cape imprinted with their insignia upon it. "Why didn't you send one of the lowers to handle this guy? I mean there are hundreds more I would rather spend time hunting down than some pussy medic ninja." Snake spoke with such confidence. She kept her eyes close and with each word, picked up speed. "I mean think about it. Akagi-sama could be home right now laying down, watching television while we go out drinking-" "Snake, quiet!" An emperor's order often shook his people. But her fiery brother lacked any true power over her. Snake gave him a look of annoyance and sighed as he continued his onslaught. "Akagi-sama was given this mission for a reason. I am sure our target is a very dangerous one since they requested the head of the puppet brigade." Ox bit his lip in thought. "Snake please tell me you did your research before this mission." "Well, about that, Hehe." Snake scratched her head. In a flash of light, the sun illuminated invisible threads. A deeper connection held between Akagi and his siblings. Memories flashed of a figure standing in front of a library. But the silhouette had red hair in Sunagakure's moonlight. "Last night, I went to investigate some on our target. Kazekage-sama was nice enough to not mind me snooping. Though, It took only a few hours to find absolutely nothing. Whoever this guy is, he took extra caution in hiding himself." Snake's expression matured in a matter of seconds. ""To remain invisible for all these years," "This is not our ordinary target." Akagi finished. "If you couldn't find anything Snake, we have no idea what this battle will entail. Shit." The puppet master jumped with elegance. His feet leaving each step in silence. "If anything happens, I want you guys to escape-" "We will never do that, Akagi-sama." Ox interrupted. "We are apart of your elite team of shinobi. Our job includes dying with you." "Which will never happen. I mean, if we were to die by this guy, we wouldn't be worth the title of masters. Right, Akagi-sama?" Snake jumped onto Ox's shoulder and kissed his shoulder. Ox's strength kept him at his normal speed. A truly resilient warrior. One like no other. "So what-" Her eyes shot open in utter shock and evilness. She could feel someone, or something entering her. A demonic snake slithering deeper into her mind the closer to his proximity. A shadowy hand digging further into her psyche. Attempting to pull her darkest desires. Her body started to shake in a fake fear. An emotion so foreign she could not recognize it. "A-akagi-s-sama..." She tried. But invisible gasp of worry interrupted her words. "I can feel it...Ox, what is this?!" Akagi lost his footing on one jump and almost fell, shooting a jolt of chakra from his blasters. He swung from another branch and found his balance. His heart increased in speed. To give Akagi emotions was a miracle. A toy could only smile. It involved nothing deeper. But he felt a worm digging deep inside of his mind, reaching for his most fragile secrets. Past other faces that inhabited a space behind his. He hated this...It felt like utter violation. Ox seemed immune to it, but their connection said otherwise. He could feel the presence in both bodies. "It's some sort of mental invasion technique. Whoever is casting it, is powerful. We must not let it deter us, we have to push further." Ox personified his confidence. His honor and respect. An unbreakable ego capable of holding a planet on his shoulder. "You're right, take care of Snake. Make sure she is okay. Help her regain focus before we reach our target..." Not long after, three figures appeared behind its source. And his gruesome sight sent a shiver down Snake's spine. "You monster.." She whispered. Snake could not comprehend how a human could do such a thing. Even she, an assassin had limitations and morals. She only killed, never tortured. "I take it he is the guy we are looking for. And the one casting such a killing intent." Snake jumped off of Ox's back. Her mind violated, but she remained ready. Ox placed his hand on his swords sheath, awaiting Akagi's call. "When ever you are ready master." "Talking is useless. We have to end this monster." The creature barely seemed to notice them, at this range they could feel his presence all around them, he was everywhere, within their mind, within their heart, and within their sight. Fortunately for Akagi, it would seem he was a hardened soul, for many shinobi had fallen to their knees in desperation at merely approaching Isamu while his hiden was released in full force. It surrounded him like a palpable miasma, seething into the ground, the air and the mind, corrupting, warping and breaking. While they were suffering Isamu examined them, it was a quick endeavor and within moments he had learned a great many things. The other Shinobi were puppets. Dolls! The nice man had brought Isamu dolls! Pretty-pretty nice, yes, he would thank him, oh how he would thank him. He'd become his next patient, he was the best healer in the world surely, everyone would know of him if things continued like this. Oh, how he loved saving people! His patient had been awfully quiet though, it was quite a shame, when he woke up he would surely express his gratitude. Oooh, but wait, one of the newcomers was actually a doll himself! "Daddy is gonna have to greet some friends, don't be sad, no no, never sad. It'll be alright, I'll make sure of it. Don't worry, daddy still loves you very much, he'll be back, talk to the nice doctor, yes" Isamu leaned in and kissed the forehead of the corpse once again, its blank eyes staring into nothingness. He then moved up in a sitting position, turned around towards the newcomers and smiled heartily, even as he smiled however, something felt wrong. His murderous intent was so clear, so palpable so as to be almost physical it emanated from his form like a creeping wave of dread. Isamu's eyes, once sharp and filled with conceit were now wild, unfocused and hazy due to sleep derivation. Suddenly something in his posture shifted and his intent previously overwhelming in its entirety would change drastically... It was as if the world was erased around the former Akatsuki member, his presence would become unclear, masked by the immense aura of dread that rolled off of his frame and sought to crush the foundation of their mind like powerful waves crashing against a wooden boat. The sky seemed to darken, the sounds were replaced by silence and in Akagi's mind it would seem as if nothing else existed beside Isamu and himself, like they were trapped within an endless void. His presence came in waves, each assaulting the psyche of every mind in range, whether living or otherwise; it would conjure unspeakable images of their grisly death, each more terrible than the last. The force of his mental presence was so powerful that it was as though it attempted to stifle their very existence. It was the Shadow of Yin - a talent Isamu had employed often while still sane - at this point it could cause immense damage to the body of the victim as well as their mind, it wasn't uncommon for it to induce a myocardial infarction, sometimes followed by an acute cardiac arrest. As he approached his presence in their psyche would start to intensify even more, it would go from merely being of great discomfort to gradually feeling as though someone had jabbed an ice-cold dagger between their eyes, causing excruciating mental agony and possibly reducing their prowess in combat. The world would seem ghastly, unfocused, unclear and ever shifting, the shadows would seem to stretch farther and the colours around them would gradually bleak. The presence of Isamu's fully released telepathy attempting to suffocate their very senses. His steps were light, sprightly and almost playful, his warm welcoming smile belying the monster that lurked beneath his comely exterior. At the seventh step, he vanished from sight entirely. He reappeared shortly afterwards, fifty feet up in the air above Akagi's entourage. His hands and bare feet being covered in their entirely by a powerful layer of chakra which seemed to vibrate at high speeds. They were chakra blades created by Isamu's prodigal use of the chakra scalpel. When he began his descent, he churned his body around quickly in mid-air twisting it in erratic motions, at each successful revulsion his hands and feet would split the air in two with expanding arcs of blue-white energy, as each moment was entirely devoid of typical form some of these blades would fall far short of their intended mark, but most would approach Akagi and his puppets in some way or form, some obviously and others would be trickier, eventually striking from unconventional angles such as behind, his flanks or beneath him. Before he landed elegantly on his feet Isamu would manage a total of four full-body revulsions, setting the total of flying chakra scalpels to sixteen. The moment his feet re-connected with the ground, Isamu surged forward, his form fading into nothingness at the point of his departure. There was once a time where Isamu's immense agility had brought assured ruin to many a shinobi. The present was little different, the only difference was that his movements were less controlled than before, more feral, like a starving beast moving in for the kill. It was meticulous however even in its entirety, and by looking at how his body masterfully bended and contorted like that of a skilled acrobat one could easily bely the remnants of his great abilities. His speed was great enough that in a single leap he had outrun his own chakra blades, and as they to his eyes hung silently in the air he gracefully maneuvered between them mid-movement. With one final surge of speed he'd attempt to close the remainder of the distance between himself and Akagi, with only a moderate drop in his movements he'd strike with the chakra scalpel on his left hand first, he'd follow his own momentum to make a quick-follow up attack with his right hand, both of them aimed at Akagi's chest region, the intent being to injure the few remaining organs he still possessed. He followed his own movement and while his right hand was surging towards its target the left hand would descend down towards the ground, quickly followed by the right, ending in a hand-stand - at which point Isamu would quickly use his remaining two limbs, his legs to strike at his torso, the chakra blades that surrounded his feet were noticeably longer than those on his hands and they didn't possess the normal qualities of the chakra scalpel and cut through solid matter like two vorpal blades of energy. The attack using his entire body like a spinng wheel of blades. Following this attack, Isamu would use his position to quickly cartwheel out of the way for the approaching chakra blades flying through the air. Finally rising up into full height some distance from Akagi. Akagi felt his influence immediately. A powerful dark force manipulating his very view. His heart sped to incredible levels and he could feel his eyes about to burst. The young master had yet to feel something like this before. Is he even human? Just one of his thousand questions. Ironic seeing as he abandoned his humanity ages before. He felt his metal innards twist and turn, almost breaking apart. How could this happen? Why did it hurt so much? Every second that passed was a second of excruciating pain. Not to far away, Snake's knees started to shiver at the sheer intensity. For this instant she came to life. A dead body illuminated with a piece of a whole pie. Memories flashed in her mind. Memories of thousands of faces. All morphed into one massive picture of regret. But these were faces gathered from different people. Faces she had never seen before. Faces stolen by all twelve puppets, equally distributed throughout. With their master being central command. Why was she seeing all of their memories? But something inside him stood tall. A burning sensation, a fire. Akagi had been blessed with an immense willpower, a trait which lead to his unprecedented mastery of both threads and puppets. During his earlier years, the previous Kazekage gave him monstrous potential for his willpower alone. Akagi could transfer his mental and emotion experiences through his threads. Leading to him gaining absolute control over a person, as well as forming a deeper than physical connection. Someone was invading his mind, but it could not stop him. Even if he was stabbed in the chest with a sword, a warrior will continue fighting. He skillfully transmuted his feelings and memories to Snake, using her "Puppet" to hold his feelings. Simple redirecting the flood waters to avoid the major village. Free of his torture, Akagi quickly flicked his finger, forcefully calling Ox to his defense. Ox represented his pure confidence and honor. He was Akagi as an emperor, pure strength personified. Even with Isamu's powerful mental capabilities, Ox stood as Akagi's ultimate defense. When Isamu initially descended, Ox stood in front of Akagi with his sword drawn. Although Akagi lacked true immunity from Isamu's mind powers, he could remain focus enough to defend himself. And by carefully channeling his emotions and feelings into Snake, his mind had cleared. As long as his threads were connected, Akagi had a shield against Isamu. Forgive me sister, please do! With quick action, he maneuvered around with a combination of attacks from Ox to avoid Isamu's major strikes. He lacked any sensation of pain and any attack not aimed at his stomach or heart, was useless. His body was lifeless, alongside his siblings. So at the end of his barrage, Akagi stood still. No less hindered than before. After Isamu's final attack, Akagi used Ox to stop it with a devastating haymaker capable of smashing the ground around him. During his cartwheel, Akagi's arm clicked, releasing a blaster. From the blaster, a massive barrage of poisoned senbon shot at him with enough force to fully puncture trees. Isamu cringed as his route was cut off by the red-haired puppet named Ox. How dared this woman stand between him and his prey? No matter he would not be deterred by something like this! He wouldn't, As Ox approached, Isamu read the patterns of his attack telepathically and then, with utmost efficiency, he bobbed around the strike, gently flowing away from it even as he began to close the distance between him and Ox. His hands shone a bright blue with the chakra scalpel, but then they changed - the flow of the blades became softer, gentler almost and their color turned a translucent grey. It was the Yin Blade - and now Isamu would attempt to attack the mental connection between Ox and Akagi. His right hand reached out first as it, with the grace of slithering serpent attempted to reach into Ox's very mind, where the intent was to destroy his memories, his reason for being here and his knowledge of his own abilities. The hand would travel upwards, aiming for his chin - and, knowing his position, Isamu would attack in the same moment Ox extended his fists to perform a haymaker, knowing that he was likely in a suboptimal position to defend himself. Isamu would then move a few more steps before he'd do a half-pirouette, his left hand outstretched and flowing with grey energy, towards the back of Ox's head; intending to "slice" it in half. Essentially, halving all of his expressions, his senses, his talents and his ideals. He'd continue his little "dance" by using his left outstretched hand to maneuver himself around in a full circle, but as his body reached 180 degrees, he'd quickly extend his right leg in a crescent arc towards Ox's waist. The blade of energy extending from his foot momentarily reaching five feet in length. Unlike his hands, this blade was the ordinary chakra scalpel, and it was customized to inflict physical damage instead of mental. Normally, any physical attacks would be pointless against Ox, for he could simply use his hiden to make himself impervious to damage. But the chakra scalpel had always been different, and his version in particular was exceptional, for the vibration in the blades and the shape transformation applied to its edges made it reject opposing chakra. Thus allowing it to strike through almost any defensive technique by cutting away at the chakra that composed it. Isamu suspected that this would be the case even with Ox's assumed invulnerability. Ultimately, Isamu's intention was to bisect the doll, in order to render it unusable. Furthermore, while he was completely aware of the presence and location of the chakra threads, he purposefully missed them, intending to use them for his benefit later. Isamu was naturally aware of what Akagi had done. It was a clever trick, one which would indeed prove relieving. The man Isamu used to be would've commended Akagi for his insight and intelligence, but that man was no longer here. All that was left was this half-feral creature that desperately attempted to reap what life it saw and continue in the footsteps of the person it once was in hopes of regaining some of its lost humanity. However, the same thing that allowed Akagi to use this solution could also be used agaisnt him. The chakra threads served as extensions of Akagi's own mind, Isamu knew this from reading his mind. They could make useful pathways for his own powers. Instinctively, Isamu delved into the minds of Snake and Ox, both of them had been affected by the Shadow of Yin earlier, Snake was momentarily incapacitated and Ox was simply to stalwart to let it bring him down. Focusing his mind, Isamu would, while he was still in movement attempt to force the mental effects of the Shadow of Yin and the discomfort present with his telepathy from Ox and Snake, through the chakra threads and directly into Akagi's mind. While Akagi's mental resilence was truly exceptional to have managed to resist his powers this long, suffering the full brunt of Isamu's psychic onslaught would be entirely different from what he had experienced up til this point. Should the full brunt of this incredibly powerful mind blast reach him, it would crash into his mind with the force of a tidal wave. Raging across all of his senses, ripping into his deepest memories, tearing into the very essence of what made him what he was - finally it was meant to overwhelm his mind on all friends, shattering it, and render him helpless. So as to allow Isamu to end his existence, once and for all. It was a cruel ultimatum. Either destroy the connection between himself and his puppets, the chakra threads, or sacrifice himself for the sake of his puppets. There could of course be quite a few other options, but Isamu, while he at this point lacked much in the way of intelligence, still possessed an almost animalistic form of cunning. He'd make sure to provide another incentive to Akagi making the decision he wanted him to make, naturally. His right leg was still partially outstretched at this point, and he leapt off of his left foot as he a ascended above the battlefield once again, while in mid-air, halfway before he reached his maximum altitude he'd lash out with his right leg in horizontal arc down towards Akagi. The chakra blade on his foot would then be flung down towards the position of his opponent, it billowed out from the arc, it reached approximately ten feet in width and it's effect would be physical. It was aimed at Akagi's chest region, close to the heart. Furthermore, due to the momentum it was released in, it would travel significantly faster than the previous flying chakra scalpels. If Akagi chose to endure the full brunt of Isamu's psychic assault, he'd probably leave himself open to the blast, at least, that would be Isamu's reasoning. Unfortunately for the former Akatsuki member however, Akagi had naturally noticed his leap, and up in the air he was more immediately vulnerable. So he had chosen to release the canisters containing poisoned senbon. And for a moment they filled the airspace between them, lodging themselves in earth, tree trunk and even solid stone - such was the sheer force of them. It would seem that Isamu's ascension was somewhat higher than what Akagi had expected however, so he managed to avoid the major brunt of the senbon. However, some of them found their mark nevertheless. Five senbon struck into his left arm, the immense force behind them hurling him out of balance and falling down towards the ground at great speeds. The senbon, having been launched with enough force to puncture trees, met little resistance once they encountered human flesh - and the needles went straight through his arm and out the other side. Albeit not before putting their poison in his system. As he fell, Isamu ignored the pain in his arm, and shortly before he collided witth the ground he twisted around in mid-air so that his right palm faced the earth. Before pushing off of it to break his descent. This sent him flying through the air in a somersault, before he landed a few feet from the previous position. At that point, he'd raise his right hand, increase the force of the chakra scalpel and change it to cut through physical matter, and with one quick movement he'd slice his arm clean off. Preventing the poison from spreading into his body. Then he'd catch the falling appendage before it reached the ground. Holding his arm in his remaining hand, Isamu looked at the bloody stump, before placing the severed extremity in his armpit. Reaching out with his right hand towards the stump, it began to emanate a gentle blue light - which to Akagi would be familiar as the Mystical Palm Technique, emloying this ninjutsu, Isamu would staunch the bleeding before it had even truly begun. He'd then let his left arm fall down to the ground, before picking it up and casually throwing it away. The man then began to giggle uncontrollably while he gesticulated wildly with what was left of his left arm. "Lookie! Lookie! I'm the one-armed man! Teheee!" A strange presence interfered with his threads. He could feel a vibration,a wave rushing towards him. Massive amounts of energy coursing his very way. He had to severe their bond. Or Akagi would suffer an immediate defeat then and there. His crimson threads of chakra snapped like an arm breaking in two. Whipping and wrapping around one another before returning to their master. Snake fell, a lifeless lump of flesh and metal. A face frozen in eternal fear. He could feel his heart racing against sadness. How could he do that to his sister? Akagi was a monster. Worst than all the scum living in dirt. No one deserved what she endured. No one! He remained stuck in regret. Her blank eyes void of all love and life. Mouth gazed openly as if she saw invisible demons dancing around her grave. How could a human inflict such damage to someone. Snake was usually bubbly and cheerful. It was a mistake to bring her. Akagi kept thinking. Despair covered him in a dark veil. But his sadness birthed an unforgivable anger and hatred for his enemy. A man he had not even bothered learning his name. When Akagi cut his connection to Snake, his own willpower increased. He also began to channel his own energy through his threads as a way to further increase Ox's defense. No one surpassed Akagi's mastery of his chakra threads and even less could take control of them. He could overpower other puppeteer's with his own. Not a soul lived that survived all five threads. And to have only puppet, his main warrior, Ox, had an immense support. Ox remained immune to Isamu's attempts of mind violation. Being a force comprised solely of willpower and confidence made him the ultimate wall. A warrior knew fear, and understood it as natural. At the end, this became nothing more than a game of emotions. Meanwhile, Ox had to deal with an onslaught of attacks atop of worrying about his master. Come on Akagi-sama, keep it together. Shit, I have to get to him. But I can't lose focus! Ox activated his hiden technique. Each of his siblings had been blessed with a unique ability. A power which allowed them to battle armies unassisted. Ox had been known as the emperor, an egotistical demon. Urushi-oni, capable of eradicated all who stood in his way. Fighting Ox resulted in broken limbs and lost lives. He was simply Akagi's favorite demon to use in battle. A field of chakra erupted around Ox's body. Almost resembling static. It hummed a slight song with each movement. Isamu's first strike made contact, and with it he could feel darkness spread in his mind. The force blast lessened Ox's physical abilities greatly. Causing him to lose his composure. It covered a picture of a dark-haired woman he once knew. Dammit! Ox cursed under his breath. I could have sworn it hit me. When Isamu reappeared behind his large person, Ox felt a larger portion of himself disappear. But it did not bother Akagi. Akagi represented a different piece of a whole. And of that whole, he held his own memories. From his parents to his own sensei. Ox, instead, represented a collection of memories from his human source. A warrior from distant lands largely feared. And so, Akagi remained unaffected. Instead, Ox took this opportunity to deal a large blow to Isamu. Ox's hiden worked using Kinetic energy, opposing his brother who could steal inertia through a barrier. Using such a technique allowed him to enhance his own movement and physical speed through stolen energy from himself or the environment. It also created a field where physical attacks powered himself up. And so he stole the kinetic energy from Isamu's attack, as well as his own and channeled it through his sword. When his foot came within a specific distance, Akagi took advantage and made Ox spend all of his gathered energy on a slash to Isamu's leg. See, Akagi had a better understanding of his enemies mental prowess. Surely it surpassed his own, but it came with a weakness. Isamu was only human and could not focus on more than one enemy at once without his own defenses succumbing. Just as it was true with tailed beast, all wild animals lost a portion of power when they succumbed to their feral traits. Isamu simply attacked to attack, not for a strategic advantage. And as long as Akagi remained calm, he held the upper hand in intelligence. When he cut the strings with Snake, he created a puppeteer's greatest weapon. A free hand. Before Isamu's attack struck, he attached Chakra threads to the ground and used it to pull himself out of the way. Something that required little to no movement. Akagi was now positioned in front of Snake. "Go rest.." He whispered as his sister disappeared in smoke. Akagi summoned two more puffs of smoke and from it, large figures stood in front of Akagi. Meanwhile, Akagi remained on a knee. His body nearly dissected. He relied on a sword to stand. "You go to, make sure she is okay." Akagi's voice changed as well. Ox disappeared without question. He served his duty. "To think he was able to scratch mister Conqueror of Three Worlds" A deep voice joked. "That title is so overrated. I'm better at taijutsu than that red head is. He only gets it because Master chooses to use him first. Plus, to use us off the bat is not far for anyone." Purple hair waved rapidly around a large pale figure. "Dragon, Monkey, focus." Akagi interrupted. "This guy is some sort of mental monster. When he struck Ox, I could feel parts of him disappear. He was even able to incapacitate snake with mere thoughts. To be able to defeat them both with little injury..." Monkey looked to Dragon and sighed. They realized Akagi's chest had a deep slash in it, near his heart. A close call. But the gash nearly severed his arm. Unlike other puppeteer's, their master could not heal. So sustaining damage meant life or death. Their enemies ability to destroy a limb also left them in a bit of surprise. But Dragon surpassed Ox in taijutsu and Monkey had an ability that Akagi had to watch out for himself. Average shinobi could not surpass Ox and Snake, but Akagi has killed countries with Monkey and Dragon. Dragon was much darker. He held memories of torture and horrible experiments. He feared absolutely nothing. Not even death. "I will deal with this. Monkey, support me." Dragon dashed towards Isamu with Monkey shortly behind. Meanwhile, Akagi used his free hand to prepare another summoning. Just in case. Dragon's speed surpassed Ox's by worlds. His very movements became flashes of lightning. Breathes of wind flowing ever so gracefully towards Isamu. But only a fool would attack someone up front. Instead, Dragon flipped over Isamu and aimed a perfect round house kick at Isamu. This kick had enough power to utterly destroy metal. His leg's reach was built to surpass average man. His foot's ball contained a dense metal. He twisted his body to prepare for a backup attack, a reverse kick upwards. His kicks spinning like a carousel. Violent whips of wind released in all directions, blowing tree's east. A butterflies wing that turned into a tornado. But Dragon had a hidden ability. Similar to that of a Shark Sword, Dragon could absorb ones life force. And with each contact, No, each close contact, a red wisp would follow. Almost a ghostly dance. Dragon's elegance was unmatched daily. Meanwhile, Monkey channeled his ability through earth, absorbing the heat from his surrounding. A red insignia glowing brightly on the back of his palm. Almost a crimson star. The earth gain an icy frost in hopes of Isamu losing his footing. Monkey's mind was a jumble. A wild collection of memories and feelings. A short distance away, Akagi used this opportunity to fire a second round of poisoned senbon. His blasters popping from his palm with a huge snap. Each senbon was coated in his deadly poison. Akagi designed his own blasters to emit multiple attacks. But with Monkey and Dragon in his path, Akagi needed to play it safe. His senbons fired at fifty a round. Each round coming almost immediately after his last. Puncturing sounds that resembled a steam based system. His poison had a rapid spread. In a matter of minutes, absolute paralysis as well as a burning sensation beneath the skin would erupt. A three fold attack. Ox's strike managed to successfully connect with Isamu's side, however, as the missing-nin was still in motion and overwhelmed by bloodlust, it didn't seem he noticed. Ordinarily, Ox would've been far too slow to catch Isamu, but the aura he emanated from his form had slowed down Isamu's movement to a point where he could land a glancing blow against him. This was fortunate for Isamu, for if the attack had properly landed it would've undoubtedly crushed his fragile form. Even so, the force had been intense, and the injuries inflicted had indeed been great. Strangely enough however, Isamu didn't seem to take mind of the blood that by now stained his side. He was too far gone in his insanity to notice even a potentially mortal injury like this. Either that, or he simply didn't care, it was hard to determine which of these were true. At this point however, it didn't matter. Isamu had managed to successfully defeat two puppets thus far, not a bad accomplishment when fighting one of the most skilled puppeteers in the entire world. The man he was before, would probably have taunted Akagi with lies and rhetoric, attacked his self-esteem and sought to weaken the man both physically and psychologically. He no longer possessed the capabilities to formulate such plans, to properly strategize - which was why he had sustained fairly heavy damage in spite of his telepathic abilities, which normally allowed him to react to any threat even before it had become one. Growing insane was a sad fate indeed, and soon, even Isamu, considered to be one of the greatest scions the Yamanaka clan ever had, would be forgotten. "Tehee! Oooh, see, see, do you see what daddy sees my boy? It's your mother, yes, the doll is taking your mother, ooh yes, gone with you mother, bye bye mother. Say farewell to your mother Shusuke? Why don't you say farewell to your mother? She loved you you know? Yes, mothers everywhere, they have such soft entrails!" Isamu's voice was like a whining child in adult octaves, his eyes were wide with deranged amazement as he cackled, his laughter was broken, like a violin with it's strings partially cut. Usually, when Isamu used his "daddy voice", his words were directed at the decomposing corpse behind him. But this time, he looked straight at Akagi, his amber eyes mirroring the depths of his depravity. It was apparent, that Akagi had become "Shusuke" in Isamu's twisted eyes. "Do you want to see? Yes! Daddy will show you, daddy will show you how your mother screamed, daddy will show you everything!" Suddenly, the world would start to feel faint. As all of a sudden, a myriad of pictures would force their way into Akagi's mind. The agony would be immense, the constant influx of new imagery, voices, screams, blood and gore threatened to overwhelm his psyche and crush it brutally, leaving him nothing but yet another lolling subject of Isamu Yamanaka. The pain was sensations of the mind, not physical, it might be fake; it was likely, but for the mind of Isamu, nothing was truly impossible. The agony was best described as if someone attempted to forcefully split his head open with a rusty knife. It would take some time, but it would soon become apparent that the images he saw were of all the people Isamu had murdered, and he killed quite a few. He saw a picture of a young boy, with androgynous features and fair skin lying in the bed, the sheets dyed red with his blood as Isamu's frame sat at his side, reading him a bed time story for children. The boys body punctured with innumerable stabbing wounds, his eyes closing gradually as he fought back his tears, wanting to scream but being disabled from doing even that. He died in silence, murdered in his own room, in broad daylight. He then saw a vision of a young girl screaming at Isamu as he left, as a man, most likely her father crawled after the Yamanaka on all fours, like an obedient dog, his eyes glazed and unfocused. A woman sat by the table, her eyes staring into empty space, blood dripped from the corner of her mouth down into a plate of soup. She was dead, though no outside injuries would show the cause, from her vacant expression and the half-smile playing upon her cold lips, Akagi could tell that she had never even perceived the attack. He could feel her intense fear and anguish as she was hoisted up from the ground by her throat, he could feel the pain and desperation as Isamu's hands locked around her thin neck and gradually choked the life out of the little girl. Then. The scenery changed to something very familiar. He was a small boy again, and he was staring at the locked door of what had once been the home of his parents. Suddenly, the door was there no longer, and he would get to see what really transpired in full detail. Standing in front of him was a masked figure, a man holding a blade in his hand. Beneath him was his mother, clutching the decapitated head of Akagi's father in her arms as his murderer slashed at her non-vital areas, amused by her pain and the color of her blood. Her screams and pleas filled the room, every tearful word echoing through the mind of Akagi several times before fading. The floor beneath her was soon soaked with her blood, as the man began cutting off her extremities before finally thrusting the blade through her throat. A voice was then heard. It belonged to Isamu, but it seemed softer, kinder, almost friendly despite the words it spoke. Each syllable was like a curse, it shook at the very core of his being and attempted to force him to see the world from his grotesque perspective. This voice was not ordinary. "You could've saved them you know, you could've called for help.. anything, but you didn't, did you? You wanted this, of course you did, why else would you have been such a pitiful coward. You've fled from these memories, have you, you've tried to toss aside the memory of your own parents, what a contemptible person you are. In the end, you killed your own parents, it was all your fault" The scene played once again, this time, Akagi was looking at his screaming mother from the perspective of her murderer. He heard his own laughter as he repeated the atrocities against her, he saw his own image reflected in her wide eyes. He was her murderer, and he tore her body apart, piece by bloody piece. Her death came slowly, and Isamu made certain that he got a good taste of her desperate sobs. Then he could hear Isamu's voice yet again, it's tone commanding, each word tried to twist at his perceptions, force his mind to accept what he said as reality, it was hardly natural. He could feel his presence worming about inside his mind at every syllable. "You and I are the same" Then, all the pictures would fade away, only to return like a massive wave of a thousand different emotions, pictures, imagery and sounds all attempted to overwhelm Akagi's consciousness, make him lose sight of who he was, making him drown in the agony and sorrow of each and every one of Isamu's victims. Isamu would attempt to toy with his mind, hurling his mind from one death to the next, in each of them he assumed the role of the victim, and he had to endure every single one. Finally, all of these things would converge to attempt to destroy his psyche and end the battle once and for all. Then, little by little, the constant influx of expressions and images would dissipate. The Fruits of Depravity Back in reality, Isamu eyed the barrage of senbon coming his way. Puppeteer's sure liked their toys, to be sure. Nevertheless, against one who possessed Isamu's gifts, attacking was largely a wasted effort. At the very least, that was what his demented mind told him. He had used to be much more cautious than this. Isamu leap to the side just as Monkey began to freeze the ground beneath him - the puppet could keep no secret from the estranged Yamanaka, he knew every move the moment they thought about making it. He could feel the air pressure as each of the rounds flew past him, the needles crashing into the trunks of trees in quick succession, eventually causing an oak to topple over due to the immense force being administered. The additional rounds that followed had similar effects on the environment and more trees fell, and what remained of the senbon were currently imbedded in a large rock some ways out of the meadow. The rock had been partially shattered by the impact, to be capable of reaching such immense destructive power with a barrage of senbon, Akagi had to be an enormously accomplished engineer and designer. The old him would've been mighty impressed by such a feat. While still in mid-air, Isamu purposefully lowered his guard against Dragon. The puppet was extremely fast, even Isamu had trouble keeping up with him, and the way he moved betrayed his excellency within the martial field. A direct hit could very easily prove troublesome, even fatal. Ordinarily, Isamu would've understood the immense risk and calculated the best movie, but at this point his mind had decomposed to the extent that he could no longer truly speak, with the only response to the impending attack being a low guttural growl. Abruptly, he gesticulated with what little remained of his left arm, the movements erratic and spasm-like. As he did this, it would be revealed that there were dozens of chakra threads connected to the stump and they connected with something a distance away. The answer would soon reveal itself, for flying through the air behind Dragon was Isamu's severed arm, the hand presently shining with a pale silvery light, easily identified as the Blade of Yin, at the same moment that Dragon was approaching Isamu to deliver what could only be assumed to be a killing blow, it would be heading for Dragon's head, undoubtedly attempting to end him the same way Isamu had destroyed Ox. Regardless. It made no difference, for Isamu, in his ignorance, brought about by his rapidly disintegrated mind was left defenseless against Dragon's onslaught, before his attack would hit, he had already taken a direct hit straight in the chest, and the enormous force behind Dragon's blow sendt him hurtling through the air like a bullet, his broken twisting through the air before colliding with a tree. The enormous force of Dragon's legs causing him to go straight through the tree and into the next one, ultimately carving a long path of destruction through the small forest. Finally, his crushed body struck a particularily large oak, and although the force broke the bark and created a hole in the plant he remained in the trunk. His lifeless body hanging limp from atop the mighty trunk. It would appear, that Isamu Yamanka was no more, his insaniy had gotten to him at last.